Machiya Kyokisetsuryori Ringetsu

A narrow frontage with surprising depth. Latticed windows and stone walls-these are hallmarks of Kyoto machiya townhouses. The narrow frontage dates back to the Edo period, when property taxes were based on the width facing the street. To minimize tax, residents built deep homes with slim facades, earning them the nickname "eel beds."

Slide open the wooden gate and take one step inside-you'll feel as though you've entered another world. Whether it's the Edo period, the Meiji era of modernization, or the retro-modern Taisho era, this space revives the beauty of times gone by.

This area was originally a dirt floor (doma), and it extended all the way to the back of the shop at this same width.

From the entrance to the center, customers who came to view bolts of fabric would sit along the edge of a room called the mise-no-ma, where many textiles were spread out for display.

At the back, there was a kitchen, and nearby stood an irori hearth, along with a staircase leading to the second floor.

That hearth still remains beneath the tatami mats today.

The name"Nishijin-ori"dates back 550 years, but its techniques originated with the Qin clan, who brought sericulture and silk weaving from the continent around the 5th century BCE. Over the past 1,500 years, these refined techniques have evolved and are now used in sofa fabrics. The sophisticated, three-dimensional elegance woven with precision reveals different expressions depending on the angle and light, inviting you into a breathtakingly enchanting world. One of the two sofa designs expresses the fluid motion of underwater blending in black and gold. The other captures the depth of shadows created by overlapping reds, rendered in a graceful gradient.

This combined space-this room and the one next to it-was once where kimono merchants lived and worked. Here, they would spread out silk fabrics to show their customers.

We've refined the space with the theme of "blending in," combining traditional patterns with the sensibilities of modern artisans. It evokes a sense of elegant brilliance that lifts the spirit.

One of the two types of sofas is themed around "chic sophistication," using gold and silver threads to express traditional patterns in a light and refined way.

The second sofa expresses the feeling of human connection through color and technique, creating a soft, three-dimensional blur.

Located in a secluded corner on the second floor, this space offers quiet and tranquility.

Three walls evoke the texture of traditional earthen plaster.' one features a low-set window adorned with latticework shoji, while the entrance is softly veiled by overlapping shoji panels that gently obscure the view.

A massive wooden beam stretches across the ceiling, allowing you to feel the powerful breath of Kyoto townhouse architecture that has endured for 100 years.

The sliding door to the adjacent room is framed in black lacquered rails and borders, which tighten the soft bleeding of traditional Japanese pigments and abstract patterns.

The warm-toned surfaces are enclosed in a frame, creating a calm and composed atmosphere.

On a beautiful day of your journey through Japan, we most warmly recommend this space.

With generous legroom and comfortable seating, you can relax for hours. This is a special seat with a view of the tsuboniwa garden through the window.

During lunchtime, the space is often reserved exclusively, allowing you to enjoy your time without concern for others.

The building retains the retro-modern charm of the Taisho era. On the first floor, the tsuboniwa garden reflects the essence of Japanese nature-with a mountain, a pond, flowing water, and flourishing trees.

The garden faces a room once called the "Oku-no-ma," the inner chamber where a kimono merchant once lived.

In traditional Japanese, this garden is called a "tsuboniwa".The word "tsubo"refers to an old unit of area, equivalent to approximately 33.058 square meters today-about the size of two tatami mats. Thus, a tsuboniwa is originally a very small garden.

Our tsuboniwa is slightly larger than the typical ones. A hundred years ago, what thoughts stirred in the heart of the person who built this townhouse and chose to expand the garden-we cannot know. But surely, the extra space allowed for more trees to be planted.

As those trees grew, perhaps they were quietly watched over, with the ever-turning seasons and the ever-changing human world gently layered upon their branches.

There are four restrooms in total-separated by gender and located on both the first and second floors.

The women's restroom on the first floor was originally a bath area. The men's restroom has always been in its current location. Both are housed in a separate building from the main residence, referred to as the hanare (detached quarters).

The restrooms on the second floor, for both men and women, were originally where a staircase once stood. This staircase connected the living rooms on the first and second floors, and upon ascending, one could enjoy a view of the tsuboniwa garden through the window.

Incidentally, the staircase currently in use was rebuilt. It originally served as a work staircase, connecting the shop space on the first floor with the storage room on the second.

Each restroom carries the quiet presence of history in its architecture and interior design.